DETROIT – Wings forward Darren Helm has ruled himself out for at least the first three games of the season due to an injured back.

“I’m feeling good, since it happened each day it keeps getting better and better,” Helm said Friday morning at Joe Louis Arena. “I’m going to go on the road and hopefully get a skate in. I don’t think I’ll be playing Saturday, Monday or Tuesday.”

Helm hasn’t skated since Jan. 10.

“I can touch my toes,” said Helm, who was placed on short-term injured reserve retroactive to the injury occurring. “My motion is pretty much close to being back. It’s still a little stiff or sore when I come up, but not too bad. We went fairly hard today and we’ll see how it feels tomorrow.”

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Helm, who said this is his first back injury, has been on the wrong end of a rash of injuries of late.

On March 17, he missed the final 10 regular season games with a sprained MCL. Then, in his first game back, the playoff opener against Nashville, he had tendons in his forearm sliced by a skate. He was also hit by a puck on Nov. 2 during an informal skate in Troy, breaking an orbital bone.

“I want to play,” Helm said. “I’m pretty upset this happened at this time, after a lockout, it’s a short season, missing games is frustrating.”

Forward Todd Bertuzzi will miss the opener because of an illness according to Wings coach Mike Babcock.

“Todd’s not making the trip, he’s sick,” Babcock said. “They’re going to give him an IV or something and he probably join us tomorrow or the next day. If not he’ll join us in Columbus.”

On Thursday, Bertuzzi left the evening practice early due to a tender groin.

Jakub Kindl (groin) won’t play in the opener Saturday in St. Louis.

Wings general manager Ken Holland said Kindl had tests and it showed he had some trauma there. He could be read Monday for the game in Columbus.

Eaves cleared to return

Forward Patrick Eaves has been cleared to return to play from a concussion he suffered on Nov. 26, 2011.

“It was really rough,” Eaves said. “I had a great support staff with my wife and family and doctors and teammates and I wouldn’t have made it without them. It was a long rough road, but to be back cleared is a great thing. I’m very fortunate to be back playing.

“I knew I’d be back,” Eaves added. “I didn’t know when or how but I knew I would come back and play. I had no timeline to be honest with you, I just knew I’d be back.”

Eaves was hit in the head going down to block a shot. Along with experiencing concussion-like symptoms he suffered a broken jaw.

“I’ve had contact, I’ve been bumped around,” said Eaves, who felt getting through the scrimmage on Tuesday helped with the clearance to resume playing. “The first game hit will probably be a big one.”

Babcock hadn’t decided if he would skate in the opener.

“He’s been a real good player for us, a good penalty killer,” Holland said. “He’s chipped in goals and has played in the top six when we’ve needed him. He’s got a good set of hands. The obvious question is, where’s your game at? It’ll get better the more he plays.”

However, once Helm returns and if the Wings don’t have any other injuries, they’ll have to make a decision up front. And that decision more than likely will be to either waive or try and trade Jan Mursak or Cory Emmerton.

“We are deep up front,” Holland said. “We’ll have to make a decision up front.”

Knuble offered tryout in Grand Rapids

The Wings offered Mike Kunble a professional tryout with the Grand Rapids Griffins so he can have a chance at continuing his career.

“It gives me the most flexibility to decide what I’m going to do versus signing a two-way contract, where you’re stuck with one team,” Knuble said. “It gives you a better chance to be open to everybody.”

Knuble, 40, was a training camp invitee of the Wings, who were already deep at forward.

“It is (the best option),” Knuble said. “I was pretty realistic. I didn’t think I had any crazy illusions of something happening here this week. It gives me the chance to play and get back in the frame of playing again. And you get your name out there that you’re active.”

Knuble, who was drafted by the Wings in the fourth round in 1991, had six goals and 12 assists in 72 games last season with the Washington Capitals.

The lockout really hurt a player like Knuble, who began skating with the Griffins from their first day of training camp.

“I don’t want to be one of those statistics, but reality is last lockout I was very proactive, but I was at a different point of my career,” Knuble said. “You get to certain points you got to weigh the pluses and minuses all the time of what you’re doing with your time and how it affects people around you. For me to stay at home this year had been the best thing for all of us.

“Obviously your main goal is to play in the NHL,” Knuble added. “Another goal of mine was to play in Europe, which I did, and another goal of mine would be to play in my hometown.”

Knuble has 274 goals and 266 assists in 1,040 NHL games over 16 seasons with Detroit, the New York Rangers, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington.

“It’s a wild year, it’s going to be a crazy year and it’s extremely unpredictable,” Knuble said. “Guys are going to be dropping. They’re going to find young guys can’t handle the grind, they’re not ready. You stay with it, two weeks in, you should see how this whole year is going to shape out. Teams are in trouble already.”

The Wings also sent defenseman Brian Lashoff back to Grand Rapids.

Central Division breakdown

The Central Division was turned upside down last season when St. Louis emerged on top ahead of perennial powers Detroit and Chicago. The Blues’ 43-15-11 record to end the season was due in large part to a coaching change – Ken Hitchcock – and a goalie tandem – Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott – that conceded just 165 goals. This team stayed pretty much intact and should contend again. The Wings, who finished third in the division for the first time since 1990-91, suffered the biggest loss on the blue line this offseason with the retirement of Nicklas Lidstrom and add to that the trade of Brad Stuart to San Jose. But Detroit may be the deepest it has ever been up front. Nashville, which bounced Detroit from the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2006, had the second biggest loss on the blue line when Ryan Suter bolted for Minnesota. The Predators then nearly lost Shea Weber before matching an enormous 14-year offer sheet Philadelphia made before losing their top two D-men in one offseason. The Blackhawks’ roster has seen little change – Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook – from the team that won the Stanley Cup two seasons ago. Columbus should again be the doormat of the division, coming off a league-worst 65 points a year ago.

Prediction: Wings finish third in Central; qualify seventh for playoffs; lose in second round.

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